MICHELLE TOMPKINS takes the unusual step of going for a curry... stone cold sober

Zara Zara 10 Swindon Street, Highworth SN6 7AH Tel: 01793 766866

Open: 5.30pm to 11.30pm daily

IT’S been a very long month. A long, dull, stressful, boring, frustrating month which I will be glad to see the back of.

I’d like to say that whoever dreamed up the concept of Dry January needs shooting, but what they actually need are shots of a different kind. Shots of tequila. And plenty of them. Until they learn to lighten up a little and stop persuading the rest of us that a whole month – a whole flipping month – of abstaining from alcohol is a good idea.

Yes, yes, yes, I know all about the health benefits. I’ve done it, haven’t it? And lost a few pounds in the process, not to mention woken up each morning without that niggling little headache and dry mouth.

But I can’t say it’s been easy. I can’t say that I haven’t gone home from work most nights and gazed longingly at the unopened bottles of Christmas wine, wondering if it counts as cheating if I pour it into a casserole. Or eyed up the leftover Baileys and debated whether it’s actually more of a dessert than a liqueur.

There has been only one silver lining in this whole sorry month of abstention and that has been Zara Zara. Or rather, the fact that we went to Zara Zara and experienced what a good curry really tastes like when you don’t eat it at 11pm at the tail end of a bottle of pinot or seven bottles of Bud.

And it was pretty darn good, let me tell you.

This pan-Asian restaurant opened in Highworth last year and I’ve been hearing good things about it ever since.

First impressions were excellent as we were ushered in by a friendly waiter, and as the only customers in there early on a Sunday evening, I had plenty of chance to check out the decor – modern and eclectic, with zebra-print wallpaper and pink neon lights sitting alongside the more traditional dark wood panelling and Indian ephemera.

With our focus more on the food than the beer for a change, we decided on starters other than the usual poppadoms.

Mine was the Jinga butterfly (£5.90), a batch of king prawns marinated in spices and deep fried in breadcrumbs. With a yogurt and mint dip alongside, it was a light but tasty start to the meal and one I’d never normally try or appreciate with my taste buds dulled by alcohol.

My partner opted for the trio of Chennai lamb chops (£6.90). I’m not why they get their name from this Indian city, but I can only assume it’s down to the specific blend spices used to marinate the meat.

Whatever the reason, the three chops were tender and delicately flavoured, with a surprising amount of meat on each given the reasonable price tag.

Our unclouded judgment allowed us to look beyond the usual chicken tikka massala for our main courses and we eventually settled on two of Zara Zara’s signature dishes – the Bengal special with lamb (£9.90) and the chicken razalla (£9.90), served with pilau rice (£2.50) and a keema nan (£2.90).

The menu says the lamb dish is “prepared in the most authentic way” and cooked with 21 different spices, as well as onions, peppers, tomatoes, coriander, chillies and mushrooms.

I can’t say I could taste every one of those 21, but I could certainly taste more than normal, and without the belly full of alcohol which usually allows me to eat only half of every Indian meal, I was able to give the dish a fair shot.

But the chicken razalla was the real highlight for our reawakened taste buds.

The medium hot sauce had a decent kick without numbing the senses, with decent chunks of juicy chicken distributing the flavour. We both agreed to look out for this dish on other Indian menus (but will probably forget).

With the bread and rice to mop up the sauces it was a fantastic meal, made all the more enjoyable by the lack of alcohol which preceded it.

That’s not to say we’ll be heading into Dry February. Don’t be silly.

Roll on Sunday, when life as we know it is resumed. Cheers!